Victor Rabinowitz long time advocate on behalf of union labor, civil rights for minorities and civil liberties for dissenters, who represented Cuba, Alger Hiss and Benjamin Spock and who died in late November, will be remembered and honored at a memorial meeting Saturday, January 12, 2008 at 4PM at NYU Law School’s Vanderbuilt Hall, 40 Washington Square South. To read a moving personal memoir of Rabinowitz by one of his children, Mark Rabinowitz, click here

UPDATE: He's still dead, but for New Yorkers of a certain age and left persuasion, the meeting memorializing the life of Victor Rabinowitz was a time warp. Civil rights, civil liberties activists, war opponents, now grey-haired litigators some turned judges and law professors all looked much as they did when I first met many of them in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. Chuck McDew, the first chair of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee looked more wrinkled and greyer (but no heavier) than he did in 1962, but he was just as warm and funny as then as he remembered how “Miss Ella” (Baker) sent him to meet “good white people:” Victor and his partner Leonard Boudin. Joni, Mark & Peter Rabinowitz remembered their father’s loyalty, devotion and humor as well as a few of his difficult moments. Some of the speeches were dull with left-speak, of course, but the real remembering of Victor Rabinowitz took place as we schmoozed before and after, reaffirming links between us forged in struggles which (for me at least) were quite frightening. His was quite a time.

But you can do more. Following the memorial meeting, a few steps East at Judson Memorial Church 55 Washington Square South the, Domestic Workers United , an organization of largely immigrant women of color, is hosting a benefit dinner dance 6-11:30PM. It will feature home cooking. I’ve eaten their food and it’s wonderful. Together with music, dancing and some (short, I hope) speeches, it should be great. It’s a fund raiser and they ask you to pay between $25 and $50. If you cannot afford to support the Domestic Workers because you’ve already given ‘til it hurts, ask them to let you in for less. (Need more about the Domestic Workers and their proposed Bill of Rights? Try here.

In addition, of course, consider wearing orange on Friday, January 11, 2008 in honor of Mr. Bush’s tortured detainees. Look at the ACLU ad on the right side of this page, or visit the Witness Torture page. If your not worked up about Mr. Bush's illegal detention and tourture program try this recap by Meteor Blades at Daily Kos .

These are all good ways to honor in action the extraordinary life and work of Victor Rabinowitz.

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